C-USA looks into adding ninth conference game

College Game Day - SOUTHERN MISS 52, UCF 31

October 16, 2005|By Alan Schmadtke, Sentinel Staff Writer

College football's Division I-A teams will go back to a 12-game regular-season schedule next year, and Conference USA members have had preliminary talks about adding another league game to the schedule instead of adding a non-conference game.

Athletic directors in the conference brought the subject up at a recent league meeting, UCF Athletic Director Steve Orsini said, but the group has not made any formal proposals.

In an e-mail to the Sentinel, C-USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky said he was open to the idea and is primarily concerned about the quality of games his teams add. He said the league probably would have more discussions about a ninth conference game.

Most Division I-A conferences play eight league games, although the Pac-10 voted this summer to add a ninth game starting in 2006, making league play a full round-robin.

Of C-USA's 12 members, all but Southern Miss have added a 12th game for next season. UCF recently signed Division I-AA Villanova to come to Orlando as its additional opponent for 2006.

Israel plays, loses redshirt

Kyle Israel will not get his redshirt back this season. Israel came on in relief of Steven Moffett in the fourth quarter with UCF trailing 52-14. Israel scored his first career touchdown on his first drive, a 1-yard sneak. It was his first game action of the season, and it ended any possibility that he could get his year of eligibility back.

Israel, a sophomore from University High, played as a freshman, got hurt in the spring and left fall camp at No. 3 on UCF's depth chart. Although Ed Marynowitz was listed as Moffett's backup, Israel recently moved past Marynowitz in the depth chart.

2 new faces

UCF tried a pair of new safeties against the Golden Eagles, plugging in FS Anthony Willis and SS Breon Rogers. It was the first career start for both players, and Rogers became the seventh freshman to make a start this season.

Rogers started ahead of Jason Venson, who had started the previous two games but was left back in Orlando because Coach George O'Leary said he "needs to become a better practice player."

Willis moved up because the Knights also left Sha'reff Rashad at home because of an unspecified injury. Saturday's backup safeties were Renford Parkes and Travonti Johnson.

Etc.

UCF is 0-for-2 in conference road openers. It also lost its first Mid-American Conference game on the road in 2002, falling at Marshall. . . . The 42 first-half points by the Golden Eagles were the most surrendered by UCF in the O'Leary era. . . . Saturday was homecoming at Southern Miss on Saturday and it was family day for Moffett. Although he grew up in Orlando and played at Winter Park High, Moffett said 75 percent of his family lives in Hattiesburg, Miss., including his father. . . . Moffett's 35-yard scoring pass to WR Mike Walker in the first quarter pushed his consecutive-games streak of touchdown passes to nine.